The US has said that the horrible terror attacks like that on Mumbai [Images] are actually harming the cause of Kashmir.

"The question of India-Pakistan relations is one that... they have actually made great strides forward in the last couple of years. And obviously, the tensions created by the Mumbai incident made that more difficult right now,"Richard Boucher, the US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, said.

Boucher said this on Monday during a press conference in Islamabad [Images]. The transcript of the media briefing was released by the State Department yesterday in Washington.

When asked if there is an effort to solve the Kashmir issue, Boucher said, "There's always hope. But it's beensomething that they themselves have pursued."

"But I think there's an opportunity here to work together against the groups that are trying to disrupt India-Pakistanrelations, against the groups that are actually harming the cause of Kashmir by carrying out these horrible terroristactions. And hopefully, coming out of that, the two sides will find themselves in a better position to cooperate," Boucher said.